Molecule identified as new anti-cancer target

Melbourne: Scientists have identified a molecule called interleukin-11 as a potential new target for anti-cancer therapies. Until now, the importance of interleukin-11 in cancer development has been underestimated, but Melbourne researchers have recently identified this molecule as a 'dark horse' for the development of cancer.

Their discovery suggests that blocking interleukin-11 signaling could ultimately provide an exciting new approach to the treatment of bowel and stomach cancer, which are two of the most common cancers worldwide.

When a tumour develops, the normal (non-cancerous) tissues around it can become inflamed, and produce many different molecules, including the two related proteins interleukin-11 and interleukin-6. These hormone-like signaling molecules, referred to as cytokines, are thought to promote the growth and spread of cancer cells, but interleukin-11 was thought to have only a minor, if any, role during cancer development.

However, Dr Tracy Putoczki and Associate Professor Matthias Ernst from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute's Cell Signaling and Cell Death division have now shown that interleukin-11 is one of the most important cytokines that stimulate the growth and spread of cancers.

Working with scientists at the Melbourne-based pharmaceutical company CSL Ltd, they discovered that blocking interleukin-11 in models of stomach and bowel cancer stoppedtumour growth and could lead to tumour shrinkage, making this cytokine a promising potential new target for treating many types of solid cancers.

Putoczki said that the team was stunned to discover that interleukin-11 was much more potent in promoting cancer development than interleukin-6. Ernst said that the team had begun to explore how the discovery could be applied to potential new anti-cancer therapies.

"Treating cancers with agents that block cytokine signaling is an exciting new approach that potentially has advantages over current treatment strategies. Drugs that block the action of cytokines have previously been developed for both inflammatory disease and cancer and, in the case of interleukin-11, our work does not suggest the likelihood of undesirable side-effects. Moreover, agents that inhibit interleukin-6 signaling are already in clinical trials for ovarian, kidney, prostate and breast cancer. Our discovery paves the way for trials of agents that stifle interleukin-11," Ernst said.